Archive for the ‘natural gas’ Category

By now you probably know my take on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, if you have been reading this blog and my occasional articles on TriplePundit. Briefly put, I don’t see that the advantages of a marginally cleaner carbon-based energy supply outweigh the litany of disastrous impacts—both potential and real—to the environment, the atmosphere, the earth, the water supply and property values.

I don’t think it is even close, but in the interest of fair play I’m presenting this infographic, “Fracking: Economic Boom or Safety Bust?” courtesy of Mike Isaac, who markets content with Kris Dietz, the founder of two marketing agencies, ProspectMX.com & RankPop.com.

It makes for interesting viewing as it attempts to illustrate the advantages of fracking – take a look and add this to the store of information on fracking. (BTW I received no remuneration for this.)

More on fracking : a new web video series designed to provoke discussion and disrupt conventional thinking on a wide variety of contemporary issues released its second episode — about the use of hydraulic fracturing – fracking – and its impacts on economic growth and environmental sustainability.

The “Summits on Tenth” series is a joint project of the Nathan Cummings Foundation, a social change philanthropy and AlterNet, an online source of independent news and commentary. Read the rest of this entry »

Why does the hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, method of drilling for natural gas and oil get a pass for its unintended consequences, such as soil, water and air pollution, water waste and earthquakes, among other really bad things?

No need to answer, but there’s another alarming outcome of fracking that could hit close to home, especially if your home is in Bradford County, PA, where 93 percent of the acreage is under lease to a gas company. Read the rest of this entry »

Fracking is getting heat—or at least a lot of attention—at the grassroots and at the federal levels. President Obama this month issued an Executive Order forming an interagency working group “supporting the safe and responsible development of unconventional natural gas resources.”

“Unconventional” in this case is hydraulic fracturing—aka fracking—a natural gas extraction method in which water, sand and chemicals are pumped underground at high pressure in order to fracture, or crack open, layers of rock, making oil and natural gas accessible. Fracking makes it easier to get at the large deposits of oil and gas from shale formations.

But many also contend that it is risky and, in effect, cruel and unusual punishment to the earth’s crust and water resources. Fracking can release harmful pollutants into the air and underground water tables. There is also alarming evidence that the process causes earthquakes, which apparently is what happened last year at a fracking site near Blackpool, England. Read the rest of this entry »